Martin M. Katz:  Onset of clinical action of antidepressants

Carlos Morra’s response to Donald F. Klein’s response to Carlos Morra’s response to Klein’s reply to Morra’s comment

Thank you for clarifying the findings of Zarate and his associates and some findings on which the suggested antidepressant effect of ketamine is based. I am wondering whether you would be willing to elaborate further on your thoughts about the findings of Kasper and his associates who reported on statistically significant change in the total score of the Hamilton Depression Scale during the first week of treatment and suggested that antidepressant action can be seen during the 24 hours after the administration of the first dose?

References

Kasper S, Spadone C, Verpillat P, Angst J. Onset of action of escitalopram compared with other antidepressants: results of a pooled analysis. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 20062; 1:105-10.

Zarate CA Jr, Du J, Quiroz J, Gray NA, Denicoff KD, Singh J, Charney DS, Manji HK. Regulation of cellular plasticity cascades in the pathophysiology and treatment of mood disorders: role of the glutamatergic system. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;1003: 273-91.

Zarate CA Jr, Singh JB, Carlson PJ, Brutsche NE, Ameli R, Luckenbaugh DA, Charney DS, Manji HK. A randomized trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist in treatment-resistant major depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006; 63: 856-64.

Carlos Morra

July 21, 2016